Going Against Tradition, ETC Presents All-Female Cast In Othello

Monday, August 25, 2014

E'tienne Easley and Stephanie Smith

Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga's will perform William Shakespeare's Othello at the theater located inside Eastgate Town Center at 5600 Brainerd Road, on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m., from Sept. 4-14.

"We were looking at the amount of male performance opportunities versus female performance opportunities in our season and trying to equal those opportunities across the board," explains director Garry Lee Posey. "The all female Shakespeare casting trend, or 'Chickspeare', is not really all that new or unique but this is really tertiary to providing more opportunities for actresses. We like to challenge our talent and push them to grow as artists and to allow them opportunities they may not get in other markets."

"As a woman playing the role of Othello, its amazing because you have no experience to draw from, "says actor E'tienne Easley. "The commonality is that we are human and we have all felt love, pain, hurt and betrayal to some degree, so that is what I am relying on in my approach."

General admission tickets will be $15 for adults, and $10 for students with valid student ID. Tickets will be for sale at the box office or also by calling 602-8640. Free parking is available at the Eastgate Town Center.

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